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dpa/Agencies
London
The Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world, according to the latest analysis from the British Economist magazine published Wednesday.
Tel Aviv takes the top spot from the French capital Paris, which dropped to a shared second place with Singapore.
Next in the ranking are Swiss finance centre Zurich, Hong Kong and New York.
The data was gathered by the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The Syrian capital Damascus came last in the ranking.
Berlin dropped eight places to number 50 and is the cheapest of the six German cities listed. Frankfurt is the most expensive German city and takes 19th place.
Supply chain issues and coronavirus measures which limited production and trade have contributed to the rising cost of living in many cities, according to the analysis.
Transport costs saw a sharp rise due to rising oil prices. Leisure, tobacco and personal hygiene also saw significance price increases.
The survey compares 173 countries by looking at more than 200 products and services.
Tel Aviv’s climb to the top of the EIU’s World Cost of Living rankings mainly reflected the soaring value of Israel’s currency, the shekel, against the dollar. The local prices of around 10% of goods also increased significantly, especially for groceries.
The survey found Tel Aviv was the second most expensive city for alcohol and transport, fifth for personal care items, and sixth for recreation.
Tel Aviv’s mayor, Ron Huldai, warned in an interview with the Haaretz newspaper that rising property prices - not included in the EIU’s calculations - meant the city was heading towards an “explosion”.
“Tel Aviv will become increasingly more expensive, just as the entire country is becoming more expensive,” he said.
“The fundamental problem is that in Israel there is no alternative metropolitan centre. In the United States, there is New York, Chicago, Miami and so on. In Britain, there’s Greater London, Manchester and Liverpool. There you can move to another city if the cost of living is too onerous.”
Last year, Paris, Zurich and Hong Kong shared joint first place in the EIU’s survey. Zurich and Hong Kong were fourth and fifth this year, followed by New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka.
Tehran climbed the most in the rankings, jumping from 79th to 29th, as US economic sanctions continued to cause shortages of goods and rising import prices in Iran.
The EIU said the rankings continued to be sensitive to shifts brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Although most economies are now recovering as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out, the world’s major cities still experience frequent surges in cases, prompting renewed social restrictions. In many cities this has disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices.”
It added: “Fluctuating consumer demand has also influenced purchasing habits, while investor confidence has affected currencies, further fuelling price rises.”
The EIU said it expected price rises to moderate over the coming year as central banks cautiously increased interest rates to stem inflation.
London
The Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world, according to the latest analysis from the British Economist magazine published Wednesday.
Tel Aviv takes the top spot from the French capital Paris, which dropped to a shared second place with Singapore.
Next in the ranking are Swiss finance centre Zurich, Hong Kong and New York.
The data was gathered by the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The Syrian capital Damascus came last in the ranking.
Berlin dropped eight places to number 50 and is the cheapest of the six German cities listed. Frankfurt is the most expensive German city and takes 19th place.
Supply chain issues and coronavirus measures which limited production and trade have contributed to the rising cost of living in many cities, according to the analysis.
Transport costs saw a sharp rise due to rising oil prices. Leisure, tobacco and personal hygiene also saw significance price increases.
The survey compares 173 countries by looking at more than 200 products and services.
Tel Aviv’s climb to the top of the EIU’s World Cost of Living rankings mainly reflected the soaring value of Israel’s currency, the shekel, against the dollar. The local prices of around 10% of goods also increased significantly, especially for groceries.
The survey found Tel Aviv was the second most expensive city for alcohol and transport, fifth for personal care items, and sixth for recreation.
Tel Aviv’s mayor, Ron Huldai, warned in an interview with the Haaretz newspaper that rising property prices - not included in the EIU’s calculations - meant the city was heading towards an “explosion”.
“Tel Aviv will become increasingly more expensive, just as the entire country is becoming more expensive,” he said.
“The fundamental problem is that in Israel there is no alternative metropolitan centre. In the United States, there is New York, Chicago, Miami and so on. In Britain, there’s Greater London, Manchester and Liverpool. There you can move to another city if the cost of living is too onerous.”
Last year, Paris, Zurich and Hong Kong shared joint first place in the EIU’s survey. Zurich and Hong Kong were fourth and fifth this year, followed by New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka.
Tehran climbed the most in the rankings, jumping from 79th to 29th, as US economic sanctions continued to cause shortages of goods and rising import prices in Iran.
The EIU said the rankings continued to be sensitive to shifts brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Although most economies are now recovering as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out, the world’s major cities still experience frequent surges in cases, prompting renewed social restrictions. In many cities this has disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices.”
It added: “Fluctuating consumer demand has also influenced purchasing habits, while investor confidence has affected currencies, further fuelling price rises.”
The EIU said it expected price rises to moderate over the coming year as central banks cautiously increased interest rates to stem inflation.
